New York Acts to Lift Pit Bull Controls

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The pit bull terrier, widely feared and, in the eyes of owners, maligned and misunderstood, had a taste of sweet vindication yesterday.

The New York City Board of Health took a major step toward repealing restrictions on pit bull terriers that had been written into the health code in 1989, when Edward I. Koch was mayor. The restrictions followed a rash of highly publicized pit bull bitings that led Mr. Koch, who likened the breed to "a great white shark," to try to ban the dogs from the city.

The repeal is expected to be enacted formally in April. It would be a benchmark in canine constitutional rights.

The Board of Health acted in response to a State Supreme Court preliminary injunction, issued in September 1989 against the pit bull health code regulations after the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and other opponents complained that the rules were discriminatory. The board approved a public hearing on April 22 to consider removing the regulations. Discrimination Protested

Lisa B. Weisberg, a lawyer for the A.S.P.C.A., said the organization had opposed the pit bull section of the health code because it was "breed specific" and "deprived owners of due process and equal protection."

Last year the City Council passed the Dangerous Dog Regulation and Protection Law. The law, which took effect in January, allows the Department of Health, after a hearing, to impose a number of strict measures on any dog that threatens or injures a person or other animal without provocation.

The pit bull, in other words, is no longer to be singled out and stigmatized as a breed.

"We're pleased with the new law," said Noreen Rubin, a spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club, a nonprofit group that registers purebred dogs. The club was joined in the court challenge by the A.S.P.C.A., the Canine Defense Fund and other groups and individual dog owners.

The crusade to control pit bulls began in New York City three years ago when Mayor Koch proposed mak ing the sale and possession of pit bulls illegal.

Eventually the Board of Health adopted regulations requiring that all pit bulls in the city be tattooed, photographed and registered and that their owners carry $100,000 in liability insurance. No new pit bulls were to be allowed in New York City after Oct. 1, 1989.

Those regulations, among the strictest in the country, outraged pit bull lovers across the nation. "It's the Rottweiler and the Doberman Pinscher that are bred to attack people, " said Janie Stanaland, a breeder of pit bull terriers in Tenaha, Tex., "The pit bull is bred to attack bulls or other animals." She added, "they are very, very sweet."

In January, the latest month for which figures were available from the Department of Health, there were 395 reports of dog bites in New York City: 27 by German shepherds, 24 by mutts, 23 by pit bulls and the rest by other categories of dogs.

"Chihuahuas were No. 4 on the list, with 6," said Peter Lynn, a spokesman for the department. "We don't have information on the severity of bites, but I'd much rather be bitten by a chihuahua than by a pit bull." Strict Measures Available

Under the new law, if the Department of Health determines that an animal is dangerous after a complaint is filed and a hearing is held, the department can order the owner to take measures that include registering the animal as dangerous, muzzling or confining it, maintaining $100,000 in liability insurance and taking an obedience course along with the dog. The department can also order the animal destroyed if it kills or severly injures someone.

"I support such laws as long as they are not used too loosely and do not single out one breed of dog," said Dr. Neil Wolff, a veterinarian and founding director of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.

But there are pit bull lovers who fear that even new legislation cannot erase the stigma attached to the breed. Vicky Hearne, an animal trainer and a visiting fellow at Yale University, argued that the pit bull terrier "used to be the All-American dog -- Helen Keller had one, and so did James Thurber and Teddy Roosevelt." Now, Ms. Hearn said, she fears that the breed's image will never recover.

"The bad press on Dobermans and German Shepherds that started in the 30's still has not died down."

A version of this article appears in print on , Section B, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: New York Acts to Lift Pit Bull Controls. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe